Relief International-Schools Online (RI-SOL) in partnership with Young Power in Social Action (YPSA) and Blind Education and Rehabilitation Development Organization (BERDO), National Forum of Organizations working with Disabled (NFOWD), Bangladesh NGO Network for Radio Communications (BNNRC) are pleased to host a one day conference titled 'ICT and Disability: The Context of Bangladesh' as part of the Global Connections and Exchange Project- Bangladesh implemented with support from the Education and Cultural Affairs Bureau of the US State Department, HP Foundation, USA and Global Catalyst Foundation, USA. The Conference will be held on 14 August 2007 at 10:00am at BRAC Inn, Mohakhali, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
According to the UNESCO, over 10% of the world's populations experience a variety of disabilities. However, information and communication technologies (ICTs) have the potential for bringing significant improvements in the lives and livelihoods of these persons living in different parts of the world. ICTs have brought new opportunities for individuals to acquire "the ability to compensate for physical or functional limitations, thus allowing them to enhance their social and economic integration in communities by enlarging the scope of activities available to them." RI SOL in partnership with the other like minded organization in Bangladesh and abroad would like to contribute to harnessing the potential of ICTs and to promote the idea of an Inclusive Information Society.
The broader goals of the conference are to create awareness among development practitioners, policy makers and the mass people in Bangladesh about the potential of ICT in empowering Persons with Disability and to showcase some best practices of the use of ICTs in enhancing life-skills and employability of Persons with Disability in Bangladesh.
Potentials Participants: Persons with Disabilities, relevant NGOs, policy makers, supporters are the direct participants of the conference.
Conference Language: Bengali and English
Conference Structure and potential impacts: The day long conference will include individual presentations, moderated and open discussion. Development practitioners, experts in ICT and Persons with Disability, eminent scholars in Bangladesh will present papers at the seminar and take part in discussion. (A detailed program schedule will be sent to selected participants by first week of August 2007.) The conference organizers also would like to showcase some ICT based facilities/projects having potentials to empower with marketable skills.
The organizers believe that the conference will raise awareness about prospects of ICTs in empowering Persons with Disability in Bangladesh, will generate new, realistic and innovative ideas to integrate ICT in empowering Persons with Disability and will influence policy makers towards supporting ICT based initiatives/projects in Bangladesh having potentials to empower Persons with Disability.
Registration and invitation: The seminar is by invitation-only. Interested individuals/organizations are requested to submit a registration form in order to be able to participate in the event. The organizers will assess the completed forms and will notify selected participants by the last week of July. For a paper/soft copy of the registration form, interested persons/organizations can contact Mr. Rahmatullah Faruque, Community and Sustainability Coordinator, email: rahmatullah@ri.org, Tel. 8840564, Ext 105, cell. 0171-6063236. Completed registration form should be submitted by 05 August 2007 by email (rahmatullah@ri.org), fax (8840564, Ext. 113) or by post/courier (RI SOL, Bangladesh Country Office, House 210, Road 2 East, DOHS Baridhara, Dhaka- 1206).
The participants from Bangladesh who falls in the category of Persons with Disability will be entitled to receive a per diem to cover the cost for their participation which may include transport, food and accommodation.
For any inquiry about the conference, please contact: Mr. Rahmatullah Faruque, Community and Sustainability Coordinator, RI-SOL, Bangladesh, email: rahmatullah@ri.org, Tel. 8840564, Ext 105, cell. 0171-6063236.
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